A Look Back

aPer his sketches, designer Robert Propst envisioned children climbing out the top and tumbling down the sides of his Child

Volcano playground structure — like flowing magma.

THE HENRY FORD ARCHIVE OF AMERICAN INNOVATION

ROBERT PROPST, A CHILD VOLCANO AND PLAYGROUND SCULPTURES

WATCH How a growing bunch of children in a park play happily on Robert Propst’s Fun Swing. View film footage in our Digital Collectionsc Designer Robert Propst was best known for leading Herman Miller’s development of the Action Office cubicle system. In the mid-1950s though, he created a number of toy designs, including the Fun Sticks game, a Fun Duck scooter and the Fun Swing — a piece of playground equipment safety experts might cringe to see in action today.

In 1958, Propst drew up designs for playground sculptures cast in fine cement — no sharp corners in sight — covered in red, yellow and blue plasticized paint. Park plans show the curiously labeled Child Volcano nestled between slides and biomorphic Hide & Seek structures. Inside the volcano’s hollow core, ladder rungs allowed children to climb out the top and tumble down its sides like flowing magma.

Playgrounds seem to contrast with the controlled systems Propst is celebrated for. However, this approach — proposing a spectrum across structured activity and free exploration — not only encouraged creative thinking paramount to learning and growth but informed his vision for flexibility and problem-solving in the office.